Hog deer is the species that holds most trophy hunters back from completing the grand slam of Australia’s six deer species. There are few hunting opportunities for them.
MY friends’ dad had hunted them and, as a kid, I always admired the hog deer trophies on his wall. He was the one who inspired me to enter the Blond Bay Hog Deer Advisory Group ballot, but to this day I have never been drawn. Luckily for me, I have had a few other opportunities to hunt them and seen some magnificent stags in my time, both with the rifle and camera.
Hog deer (Axis porcinus) are native to several Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Burma. Numbers are dramatically declining due to habitat loss and human pressure.
They were first introduced to Australia in October 1865, when three stags
